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Hi there helmet collector! I hope you can help me - I am not entirely clear about what this is.

I believe it is a "Austrian paratrooper helmet made with steel-clad Dyneema material tested by the Dutch Army in the 1990s." That is a direct quote from the new edition of Marzetti's HELMETS, which is the only place I have seen a photograph of this helmet. (See page 278, illustration number 56-22!)

I've no reason to doubt either Paolo M or Roger Lucy, who seems to have provided the photo for the book, but I would really like some more information. Please contact me if you have any.

I bought this on ebay in December of last year from a dealer in the US who was selling a number of European ballistic-plastic-type helmets, some of them rather unusual. I could only find the money for one, unfortunately.

(NB click on the thumbnail for a larger image - and use your browsers BACK button to return to this page.
IGNORE the buttons below the large images!)

Thanks for visiting - I hope you have found this interesting even if you cannot add anything to what I know already.

Greg Pickersgill

Greg's main helmet website is here!

	Front view - see obviously large bolts for liner. There are four liner bolts, and four more - two at the sides, two at the back, for the para-type chinstrap.
	Side view. The shell is dark green with a rough texture similar to a French SPECTRA
	Another front view.
	Interior with liner removed. It is a silky white finish, and it appears that the individual layers of material on the inside can be just about distinguished. Is this a 'finished' article?
	Interior closeup - the best I can do with this cheap webcam, I regret
	Chinstrap fastening - quite obviously the typical Dutch push-pull fastener that I have only seen on Dutch-made post WW2 helmets. This seems to show that the chinstap at least is a completely Dutch design and manufacture.
	Liner 1 - this seems obviously Austrian. Apart from the plastic parts it is virtually identical to the liners in my Austrian M75.
	Liner 3
	Liner 3 The only obvious difference between this and the Austrian M75 leather liner is the lack of metal rings in the ends of the liner lobes.
	Liner 4 Please note - there are absolutely NO markings or stamps or manufacturers codes of any kind anywhere on either the shell or liner of this helmet. It is totally anonymous!
Canadian collector Roger Lucy has supplied some useful knowledge about this helmet - can anyone add anything further? - "Marzetti 7.26 actually shows two separate helmets. The exterior shot shows a steel clad dyneema helmet, its interior, however, has the leather suspension and the chin-strap of the Austrian Helm 2 (M.75). It has label in German "VERBUNDHELM mit 18 Lagen Dyneema Gewebe innen und mit OBH Innenausstattung" under which roughly translates as" Composite Helmet, with 18 layers of Dyneema weave inside and with the Austrian Army liner" It also has a Canadian Forces property tag marked "Austrian metallic airborne helmet X90-2403" The interior shot is of another helmet same shape and made only of composite, its only marking is X90-2402 - as the picture in 7.26 shows it has a Riddle type suspension but a standard Austrian chin-strap. Both these helmets were discarded (and rescued), when the Canadian Forces Land Engineering and Test establishment closed down. Their serial numbers show they were acquired by LETE for test and evaluation in 1990. Obviously Austria adopted neither design, instead buying a version of the Gallet TC-3. The helmet in 56.2 is exactly the same as the one on your website, it is fact made only of a woven composite (not steel-clad) which like yours, has not been painted over inside, and has an Austrian M.75 type lining and a 3 point chin-strap with a Dutch catch. I got it from a Surplus store , it was sold as a Dutch helmet and has a Dutch marked fitted DPM cover. As we know the type was not adopted by the Netherlands which opted for the Schuberth 826. My guess is the helmet was made in Austria, given its liner and its similarity to the two 1990 Austrian trials helmets (same shape, even the same paint) , but like you I have nothing more concrete to go on. Maybe one of our Dutch colleagues know more of these development efforts." I passed this information on to a couple of collectors in the Netherlands, but no response yet. We live in hope!